Chantel McGregor: Solo acoustic gig at Fulford Arms
BRADFORD virtuoso blues rock guitarist Chantel McGregor will play a solo acoustic gig at the Fulford Arms, Fulford Road, York, on December 8.
This multiple British Blues Award winner, 39, will be showcasing her third studio album, May 2025’s The Healing.
At 14, Chantel was told by major labels that she had a “great voice, but girls don’t play guitar like that”. Wisely ignoring such comments, she enrolled at Leeds College of Music (now Leeds Conservatoire), becoming the first student there to achieve a 100 per cent pass mark, with 18 distinctions to boot.
She left with a First Class degree in Popular Music and a coveted prize, the college’s musician of the year award.
Early in her career, she was invited to perform with Joe Bonamassa on two of his British tours. In 2011, she released her debut album, Like No Other; in 2015 came her second, Like Control, again produced by Livingstone Brown, this time full of gothic imagery. In December 2018, she launched her podcast.
Over the past 15 years, guitarist, singer and songwriter Chantel has been a reliable presence on the British gig circuit, traversing the length and breadth of the country and appearing at major festivals.
It would be easy to presume that we know what makes her tick, but The Healing has blown such preconceptions clean out of the water, revealing a new side to her in both a musical and emotional sense.
“This is definitely a rock album, not a blues album,” emphasises Chantel. “It’s heavy and dark and it introduces elements of prog-rock, which is a form of music I absolutely love.”
First single Broken Heartless Liar, for example, is a raw, defiant rock anthem about finally seeing the truth and taking back your power. “It captures the moment you realise the person you loved never really valued you, just took what they could while giving nothing in return,” she says.
“The song moves from heartbreak to clarity, shifting from the pain of betrayal to the strength of walking away. It’s about breaking free from the lies and emotional wreckage and choosing empowerment over staying trapped in something toxic.”
Equipped with a driving riff, a blistering guitar solo and a chorus that sticks in the mind, Broken Heartless Liar “will connect with anyone who has ever had to fight their way out of a bad relationship and come out stronger on the other side”. Watch the video at https://youtu.be/eqnJQ3sXxuY.
Alongside McGregor, The Healing features regular band-mates Colin Sutton on bass and Thom Gardner on drums, a pair of players with whom she has developed a form of musical telekinesis.
Where things depart from the norm is the presence of two newcomers, guitarist Oli Brown as co-producer and his fellow member of The Dead Collective, Wayne Proctor, who handled production mixing and mastering.
“I’ve known Oli for donkey’s years, but when I heard the work he was doing with his band The Dead Collective, I really wanted to see if we could do something together,” says Chantel.
In another break with McGregor tradition, Brown and Proctor were involved heavily in the songwriting process too.
Tickets for December 8’s show are on sale at ents24.com/york-events/the-fulford-arms/chantel-mcgregor/7337879. Doors open at 7.30pm. The Healing is available on CD and black vinyl at chantelmcgregor.com.